Seasons of Seduction
by Vallana
Summary: Sequel to Seasons of Temptation: As the wheel of the year continues to turn, a series of encounters leads to the unexpected
1. Stupid Spring

**Stupid Spring**

_Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine; they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. This story is for entertainment and not profit._

She was thankful that she hadn't been caught outside in a violent thunderstorm before. However, she would have been even more thankful if she hadn't been caught out in this one either. At home there was always a building nearby to take shelter in, but out here there wasn't so much as a tree to take shelter under. Inu Yasha had insisted that they travel over the mountain. "It will be faster," he'd said. How she wished he was with her now. She would 'sit' him so hard…. 'Stupid Inu Yasha,' she thought. 'Stupid mountain. Stupid storm!'

* * * *

Spring! Why did it have to be spring? It was a most horrid season. Everywhere he went there was the smell of flowers and mating. It was the latter that annoyed him the most; demons, humans, and animals all giving in to their basal desires to procreate. It was disgusting and uncivilized. He had finally found refuge high in the mountains, above the tree line and away from any fornicating fauna.

And then the storm had hit.

She had come stumbling in, soaked and shivering. Her skin was pink and glowing from being pelted by the rain and hail. The odd haori that she wore clung to her skin and had become translucent. As she fell blindly into the small cave that he, himself, had taken to for shelter, his first thought was that his irritating half-brother was sure to be right behind her. To his relief and surprise the only hint of the hanyou was the fading scent he had left on her clothing. He watched as she settled just inside the cave entrance, oblivious to the fact that she was no longer alone.

* * * *

She couldn't feel her arms or legs, or her face for that matter. Her skin was numb, but she had finally found something to shield her from the freezing wind kicked up by the storm. It was difficult to tell the size of the cave in the dark so, with one hand on the wall, she moved only far enough inside to be sheltered. As Kagome turned to face the opening she felt herself pulled back, farther from the entrance. Her scream was drowned out by a deafening crack of thunder and the sound of falling rocks.

* * * *

He could smell the charge build before the lightning struck. Without knowing what possessed him, Sesshoumaru grabbed the waistband of the indecently short skirt before him. The bolt didn't just hit, it shattered the rocks that formed the opening in the mountain side. He had saved her but had no idea why. The cave quickly filled with the scent of fear. The intoxicating smell enveloped him as it filled the small space. It became more delicious as she was consumed by a slow building panic. He remembered that this human had spiritual powers and realized that the panic was being caused by the presence of his strong demonic aura. Her trembling arms stretched out in the darkness to find the tumbled boulders that now blocked her escape. Her panic crested and he inhaled deeply. Her fear made the air thick and satisfying, and he found that he wanted more.

* * * *

Why hadn't she stopped to check the cave before carelessly rushing in? Stupid one-track mind. Stupid storm, separating her from the others and soaking her until all she could think of was shelter from the cold wind. 'And now I'm trapped,' she thought. 'Trapped in a cave with a demon and no way out.

'Kagome,' she chided herself, 'the storm is not the only stupid one.'

* * * *

She began to struggle to free her legs from the fallen rocks that pinned them. As she squirmed against his thighs, his youkia flared in response. 'Stupid twisted fate,' he cursed. This was what he had come to the mountains to avoid.

He noticed that her fear had started to ebb, concentrating on freeing herself seem to calm her. This he could not allow. Moving his hand to hover above her shoulder he released a small drop of poison. She didn't scream as he would have liked, but with her concentration broken her fear returned.

* * * *

She caught the faint glow of something over her shoulder only a moment before the searing pain. She bit down on her lip and inhaled sharply. 'It's definitely a demon,' she thought, 'a demon that I've met before, a demon that can produce a green glowing poison.' The thoughts spun round and round in her mind as she searched for the answer. Suddenly the revelation struck her as the demon behind her twisted its hand in her hair and pulled.

"Sesshoumaru!" The name exploded from her as her body was pulled flush with his.

"Yes?" He answered questioningly.

Kagome felt her body relax slightly, "Will you help me move these rocks so that we can get out of here?"

"No."

"But–," She didn't understand. He was just as trapped as she was.

The fear and panic that had come from her was quickly fading under the new emotions. This he found unacceptable.

Kagome felt her head pulled to the side to expose her neck.

"Do you think yourself safe with me, miko?" his voice rumbled through her.

She shuttered at the warmth of his breath next to her ear. 'That's right,' she reminded herself, 'he wasn't really an ally, and she really didn't know that much about him.'

Sesshoumaru inhaled deeply. Her heart was racing and filling the space with the pleasing scent of fear once again. He gripped her throat tightly and heard her gasp reflexively. 'Good,' he thought, 'fear me.'

Her fingers flew to his wrist and pulled in a futile attempt to free herself. Her body squirmed against him again, but this time he welcomed the struggling. Her panic spiked as his claws pierced the delicate flesh under them, drawing small droplets of blood. Without thinking, he bent to taste her. Kagome shivered as his lips pressed to her skin.

* * * *

His heart was racing. If anything had happened to her Inu Yasha didn't know what he would do. He should have been carrying her, but they had been fighting again and he had taken off in search of shelter from the approaching storm. 'If only,' he thought as he combed the mountain side for her. The lack of trees and shrubs was actually making it more difficult to track her. Finally, he caught her scent. It was faint and nearly washed away, but it was definitely Kagome. He followed it to a wall of fallen rocks.

'Please let her be inside and not underneath,' he begged.

* * * *

Her heart pounded in her ears as his hand slid lower. His claws ran over her stomach occasionally piercing the fabric and causing her to flinch.

"Your friends have come for you." His breath was cool against her heated flesh. He hadn't expected his tormenting to arouse her as it had, but the smell, mixed with the still present fear, had intrigued him.

It took her a moment to understand the words whispered in her ear. Her friends? Here? But…. She suddenly felt conflicted. The others were here to rescue her, but she was no longer sure if she wanted to be rescued.

"Kagome!" the pleading call came from beyond the rubble. "Kagome!"

As she recognized the young fox demon's voice her head began to clear.

"Lady Kagome, have you been harmed?" the monk's voice was full of concern.

"Ah…" she gave a quick look at the demon who's hand still rested on her stomach, "…no. Just a little stuck."

Dropping his hand, Sesshoumaru ran his nails across her upper thigh. Kagome fought the urge to gasp, but squirmed against the firmness behind her. This is not how she needed Inu Yasha to find her, pinned against his full demon half-brother and hopelessly flustered.

Sesshoumaru could hear her companions digging through the rock wall and realized that if he was going to do this he would have to do it quickly. "Lean forward, miko."

Trembling, Kagome obeyed.

Carefully slipping his fingers between her legs, he pulled up quickly. A surprised squeak escaped her before she realized that her legs had been freed. Breathing deeply to calm herself, Kagome began to climb towards the small hole her friends' voices had come from.

* * * *

Inu Yasha paused as a hand reached through the opening they had created before doubling his efforts. They'd found her and she was alright. As soon as he judged the hole big enough for her to fit through, Inu Yasha grabbed the protruding wrist and pulled. Kagome blinked as she tried to adjust to the light outside the cave.

"Thank you." She smiled, not sure if she was really happy.

"Lady Kagome," Miroku questioned as he offered his hand to steady her, "are you sure that you are unharmed?"

Following his eyes, she spotted the tears in her school uniform. "Ah…yay…" Kagome stuttered as her heart skipped. "Stupid rocks."

Listening from inside the cave, Sesshoumaru fought the urge to smile. "Stupid spring."


	2. Stupid Summer

**Stupid Summer**

_Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine; they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. The following story is for entertainment and not profit. _

Her hands were still trembling from the adrenaline of her verbal war with the stupid hanyou. She couldn't even remember what had set her off. It was the heat. The summer had finally arrived and with the increase of temperature had come as increase in the frequency of their fights. 'Stupid Inu Yasha. Stupid heat. Stupid summer.'

She had headed for what she thought would be the cooling shade of the trees, but found herself overwhelmed by the stifling heat that had become trapped beneath the leafy canopy. Her clothes felt damp and her skin was sticky with sweat. She needed to bathe; not only would it make her feel cleaner, but a good soak always improved her mood.

* * * *

'Slug demons! Why did it have to be slug demons?'

The mucus swollen pests seemed to invade his territory every summer, but this year they had been worse. The wetter than normal spring had increased their numbers and the stench of their slime. It had taken him three days to track down and destroy all that had dared to cross his borders, and the unexpected heat had stripped almost all the enjoyment from the task. Now only the clean-up remained. The flesh of the slug youkia would decompose as quickly as that of any other demon, but, unfortunately, the odiferous slime he had become coated in would not. Only one thing would rid his pale skin and silvery hair of the disgusting mucus; he, Sesshomaru, would have to bathe.

Kagome inhaled the cooler moist air and caught the sound of falling water as it wafted through a break of the trees. A waterfall. She had been hoping for a bath, a relaxing soak in a slow moving stream, but a refreshing shower would do just as nicely. As she neared the source of the sound a strong demonic aura buffeted itself against her senses.

Creeping forward cautiously, Kagome concealed herself in the bushes that lined the bank. Her heart skipped as she peered through the leafy branches.

'It has to be an illusion,' she told herself as her eyes remained riveted to the sight before her. 'The summer heat has fried my brain.' She ran the flimsy excuse through her mind again and again. 'It has to be an illusion,' anything to calm her pounding pulse.

* * * *

'Only a demon could bathe in this river' he thought as the icy water washed the sticky slime from his skin.

Upon finding the glacial stream, Sesshomaru had disrobed to wash his soiled clothing. When he could no longer smell the offensive slug mucus he draped his garments over the lower branches of a tree to dry in the sun. Finding a sturdy rock beneath the falls, he had stepped into the frigid shower to clean the rest from himself. It only took moments for the demon slime to be washed from his person and down stream.

With the overpowering stench washed away, his senses picked up something they had missed. He was not alone.

* * * *

She could still feel the sweet sting of his nails scrapping across her flesh as she writhed against him. She felt heat starting to pool in the pit of her stomach as she recalled the seductive whisper of his voice in her ear, and now, after months of dreaming about it, there he stood before her, flawless and bare.

Kagome let her eyes follow the rivulets of water that caressed his skin; down the curve of his cheek to the hollow of his throat, over the pale expanse of his chest to his muscular abdomen. She could barely breathe for the pounding in her chest as she allowed herself to follow the flowing water lower.

* * * *

Pulling his fingers slowly through the heavy wet strands of his hair, Sesshomaru let his eyes scan the river bank in search of his intruder. 'How could I be so careless?' he chided himself. 'Stupid stinking slugs.'

It only took a moment for him to spot the crouching woman on the far side of the stream, her green pleated skirt and dark hair helping her blend into the underbrush. He realized that he should have recognized the familiar scent of his half brother's miko. Stretching his senses farther, he looked for any sign of her hanyou protector, but there was nothing. She was alone. He fought the urge to smile. 'Stupid woman.'

* * * *

It was as if she had blinked. One second she had been admiring the youkia from a distance and the next she found herself pinned to the rough bark of a tree by his powerful naked body. Her pulse was racing and she knew that he could feel it, too.

"Did you see something you liked?" His voice was low and unhurried as his fingers released the wrist he had pinned above her head. Her mind clouded by his closeness, Kagome shook her head to clear the dreamy fog.

The heady scent of her fear and sexual arousal rose to fill his lungs, driving him to torment her once again, "Do you not find me attractive?"

A shiver raced up her spine as he leaned in to let the heat of his words caress the shell of her ear. "I…uh…" she fought with her brain to form words as the shimmering silver of his hair fell about her. 'Stupid pretty hair.'

* * * *

She hadn't realized that Kagome had gotten so far from camp when she had volunteered to fetch her. Sango wiped the sweat from her brow as she continued her search for their wayward miko. As she neared the river she knew ran through the dense wood, she felt the distinct presence of a very powerful demon. "Please," she whispered, "don't be near Kagome."

* * * *

Sesshomaru heard the carefully placed footsteps of the demon huntress that traveled with his half-brother. Her approach was hurried, but stealthy. Inhaling the miko's pleasing scent, he moved so his lips were only inches from her own.

"I should kill you," he whispered, pausing to taste the rise in her fear, "but…"

As he pulled away, Kagome searched his narrowed eyes for the rest of his words, but no sooner had she found his gaze then he was gone. Snapping her head in the direction of the opposite bank, she searched for the fluttering white silk of his drying clothes. They, too, were gone.

"Kagome," the concerned voice of her friend broke through her racing thoughts, "are you alright?"

Reluctantly, she tore her eyes from the empty branches across the river, "Yeah. Fine."

Sango eyed the other woman doubtfully, but could find no sign of injury on the distracted miko. "We should hurry back before the boys start to worry."

Again Kagome agreed and allowed herself to be led back towards the camp. 'Why did it have to be him?' She thought to herself. 'Stupid heat. Stupid summer. Stupid pretty hair.'

* * * *

Sesshomaru watched from the top of the falls as the older woman lead the miko away. "Stupid swollen slugs." he muttered. "Stupid stinking slime. Stupid summer."


	3. Stupid Autumn

Stupid Autumn

_Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine; they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. The following story is for entertainment and not profit. _

'He's very much like autumn.' she thought to herself as she watched the swaying branches in orange and yellow. 'He brings with him the promise of death. The red on his sleeves, like leaves dancing in a white sky. His movements are quick and deadly like lightning and his voice…' her thoughts trailed off as she shuddered, 'seductive as thunder. And just like autumn rain, he always makes me –"

"Kagome," Inu Yasha's voice cut into her musings, "what are you doing?"

"Nothing." She snapped, picking up her pace to catch up with the others.

"Then quit falling behind." His tone was gruff and gave her the urge to 'sit' him.

"Stupid Inu Yasha," she muttered to herself. "Stupid leaves. Stupid autumn."


	4. Stupid Winter

Stupid Winter

_Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine; they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. This story is for entertainment and not profit._

White! Everything was white! And not in a good lying-on-the-ground, life-is-a-wonderland sort of way, but in the blowing-in-my-eyes, freezing-off-my-face sort of way and Kagome had been stupid enough to get herself stuck in the middle of it.

"Stupid Inu Yasha," she cursed. "What made me listen to him anyway? 'Wait 'til morning' he said. "The storm will blow over' he said. Stupid hanyou. Thinks he knows everything."

Not only had it not blown over, but it had created knee high drifts that she now had to plod through to get home. Stupid snow. And it was still falling, or rather being whipped about by the raging wind. She wasn't even sure that she was still going in the right direction, but trying to get back to the village would be just as futile. She could barely see the bow on her fuku when she looked down.

And that was another thing. Her school uniform was far from winter friendly. Her arms and legs were stinging and the only reason that she could still feel her fingers was because she had jammed them into her armpits.

"Stupid winter!"

* * * *

As a demon the cold affected him very little, but even his superior eyesight was no match for this blinding blizzard. He had been returning home from patrolling when the storm had forced him to land, but the thick swirling snow made it impossible for him to know where. He could hear the creaking of branches and smell the faint woody scent of evergreens, if only the wind would stop shifting so rapidly he knew that he should be able to find shelter.

Drawing Tenseiga, Sesshomaru lowered the tip to the snow before his feet and began sweeping it slowly from side to side as he headed forward. The last thing he needed was the indignity of walking face first into a tree, even if there wasn't anyone around to see it.

'Stupid wind. Stupid snow,' he grumbled to himself. 'Stupid winter."

He continued forward until the flat of his sword made contact with something. It was a tree. He could just discern the edges of the slender form through the snow. Looking pass it he could almost make out another. He had found the edge of a forest, which meant that he could get out of this infuriating snow, but before he was able to move deeper into the protective trees something hit him from behind.

* * * *

It was too tall to be the well, too round to be a building, and too smooth to be a tree. Kagome had stumbled into something solid and fabric covered. She decided to risk her fingers in the attempt to learn what it was and if it could be used to help her. Unfortunately, her hands, despite her efforts, had also started to go numb. It was definitely not a tree.

* * * *

Again he cursed the weather. If not for it, he would have seen or smelled the presence of another before they could come in contact with his person. Before he could turn to confront the invader, he dealt cold hands on the backs of his thighs. Slipping Tenseiga back into its sheath, he weighed his options. The hands were moving, as if searching for something, up and around his waist causing the feminine body they belonged to, to lean into him. Readying his poison, Sesshomaru turned to remove the arms that were invading his personal space, but found himself stopped by a familiar face.

Her dark hair was covered in a thin layer of crisp snow and her skin had an icy blue hue to it. Her eyes were squinting up at him and her body was shaking from the cold. She had been out in the storm longer than she should considering her human fragilities. He had startled her when he had turned and her fear-scent rose on the wind. Her eyes were frantically searching the space before them, but in vain. Her human eyes couldn't distinguish the swirling flakes from the rippling fabric that covered his chest.

'Surely the hanyou is not so stupid as to let her wander out here in this alone,' he thought to himself. 'Well, perhaps we will just have to teach him the consequences of letting such things fall into the wrong hands.'

* * * *

She tried to jump back as the object in her arms shifted only to find herself pinned by a strong arm. Lifting her eyes, Kagome attempted to make out the shape of whatever had her, but all she could see was white. As the hold on her waist tightened, mindless panic gripped at her and she lashed out to free herself. As her frozen fingers clawed at her captor they raked across silk and armour causing a familiar demon presence to rise and embrace her. This was no stranger. His name fell from her purpled lips as she felt her feet lifted from the drifted snow.

"Sesshomaru."

* * * *

He found himself savouring the delicious pleasures that raced through him as her trembling body was crushed tight to him. Even as the panic ebbed from her scent, Sesshomaru allowed the traitorous fantasies of his more feral nature to run free. He could already smell the growing scent of her arousal preparing to overwhelm him. Her body was clinging to him still smelling of her initial fear, but it was her hunger for warmth that was winning out. Leaning into her, he lowered his mouth to her neck to feel her shiver under his warm breath, "If you wish to be safe, miko, now is the time to flee."

* * * *

His feet moved quickly over the deepening snow. It was one of the advantages to being a hanyou. Inu Yasha cursed himself for allowing her to run out into the storm alone. He knew that he had to find her before she ended up a frozen ice cube, like one of the characters in her brother's western cartoons. 'No. I can't lose her,' he thought, 'not like that.'

He called her name as he searched, but the wind only seemed to blow it back at him in a barrage of ice. There was no way for him to know if she would be able to hear him even if they were beside one another, 'we certainly wouldn't be able to see each other,' he thought. 'And if she did make it to the well...' He hoped she had for her own sake, but until he knew for sure he had to keep looking for her.

* * * *

None of it was real, not the hot breath on her cheek, not the firm hand gripping her thighs, and definitely not the hard muscular body she was being pressed into. I couldn't be real, but the heat was burning her frozen cheek and the sharp nails were pinching her nearly numb thigh, so it couldn't all be a dream.

Ever since their encounter in the cave, trapped by an unexpected bolt of lightning, she had found her thoughts turning to him; the exciting rumble of his voice and the dangerous arousal of his claws scraping across her sensitive flesh. She had spent months replaying their meetings and imagining what could have been. Their next encounter had only made things worse; the stifling heat, the pounding water, and the temptation of his naked body only inches from her. She let the memory engulf her as she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * * *

Her eyes were vacant and unfocused as he placed her beneath the massive tree at the center of the wood. Her skin was a sickly gray and her wet clothing was doing nothing to protect her. `I should leave her here for her friends to find.' He could feel the subtle change in the wind that signalled the break-up of the storm front, it wouldn't be long before someone came looking for her. `Most likely that stupid hanyou that let her out in the first place.'

He knew he should walk away from the unconscious woman, but his feet refused to obey him. He had found himself all too often distracted by thoughts of her; her body shuddering against him, the overwhelming scent of her arousal begging him to take her, and her soft pleading voice whimpering in his ear. He knew that he had to leave now, before the temptation became too great even for him, but he also knew that this battle was already lost.

* * * *

She could hear the muffled voices of her family talking downstairs. Kagome knew that she should get out of bed, but she was finally warm, though she couldn't remember what had made her so cold. Something soft and fluffy was tickling her nose. `Stupid Buyo,' she thought, reaching up to brush the pesky cat away.

"Kagome," her mother's voice drifted up the stairs, "it's time to wake up."

Snuggling deeper into the thick blanket the furry irritant returned. "Stupid cat," she muttered taking another swat at the pest.

Again a voice called to her, "You must wake up…"

* * * *

"…Miko. You must wake up."

The voice was no longer her mother's, it was deeper and more commanding, though just as familiar.

"…Who…" She knew that she should know, but her brain was refusing to help her.

"Has the cold damaged you memory, miko?" The tone was flat, unemotional and unquestionably `his.'

Forcing her eyes open, Kagome found herself surrounded by white. Not the blazing-fury-of-the-storm white, but a more dangerous white, a white that belonged to the demon Lord that taunted her. The voice came from behind her, but his arm was lying in front of her.

"If you do not wake, I will be forced to remove your eyelids." The treat had the effect he wanted. Sesshomaru inhaled the encouraging scent of fear as it surrounded him.

* * * *

He had found the well, travelled through the well and determined that she had not made it home. He was glad that the family had been out. The last thing he wanted to do was stop to explain to her mother that he had lost her only daughter in a snow storm.

Returning quickly, Inu Yasha resumed his search, thankful that the storm seemed to be letting up.

* * * *

Kagome felt her cheeks go red as she realized her clothing had been removed while she had been asleep, but the anger and embarrassment of her own nudity was short lived. They were quickly replaced by a much more confusing jumble of emotions at the realization that she was not the only naked body beneath the fur.

She watched his lips curl into a seductive half smile, "Perhaps we are even now," he whispered eyeing her exposed skin. Kagome nodded as she remembered crouching behind bushes and watching the powerful Lord unaware as he bathed.

"But you still need to be punished." The undefined threat brought the scent of her renewed arousal to mix with her still present fear.

Kagome inhaled sharply as she felt his teeth close over her throat. It was only a gentle bite, meant to ensure her submission, but the fierceness of the action surprised her. Sesshomaru drank in her surge of fear before lowering his mouth to taste her skin. He moved his hand to draw slow circles across her abdomen as her mouth slid down to the rise of her breast. She gasped as he took her erect nipple in his teeth, and shuddered as the sharp pain became a rush of heated pleasure.

He could smell her need, was on the brink of drowning in it, and knew what she wanted. `But this is supposed to be punishment.' Letting his hand drift lower, he felt her shift to allow him access. `No,' he thought evilly, `not until I hear you beg for it.'

* * * *

The storm had dissipated making his search easier, but there was still no sign of her. The drifting snow had erased and tracks she might have left as well as buried her scent trail. All that surrounded him was a pristine field of white with no sign of Kagome. But even that was not completely true. There was something, a familiar scent that made his eyes red.

`I have to find Kagome?'

* * * *

She whimpered as his fingers skipped over where she wanted him to touch causing her to reach for his hand. A warning growl rumbled in his throat. Kagome stop and turned her eyes on him pleadingly. He could feel his own body aching to give her what she wanted, but by shear will he restrained himself and continued his teasing caress of her smooth inner thigh.

She wanted to touch him, to direct him, but every time he caught her reaching for him she was stopped by a throaty growl. His kisses all came with teeth that would gently nip at her jaw, her neck and her breasts, causing the tension to build below her waist.

"Please," she squeaked as his fingers once again came torturously close to her heated center.

"Please, what?" he smirked against her breast.

"Please," she breathed, attempting to calm herself enough to speak. Her eyes locked onto his. "Please!"

The fire and need in her eyes was too great for him. It would have to do. She was begging, even if he couldn't get her to say it. Lifting himself slowly she moved to give him easier access. Positioning himself at her slick entrance, he plunged in swiftly. Her back arched off the ground as she cried out and clamped down around him. She was hot and tighter than he had expected. As her body relaxed, he pulled back and thrust deeper. Again she arced to meet him, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Her body was completely under his control.

* * * *

He continued to scent the air as he made for the tree line. Sesshomaru was definitely there. That bastard was in his territory, what little he actually had. Springing into one of the trees, Inu Yasha heard a feminine scream from the center of the forest followed closely by a demonic roar. His heart froze. He knew those voices.

"If he so much as touches her…" His thought died as he took off in the direction of the sound.

* * * *

His mouth was slightly parted and resting by her shoulder. Her body was still shuddering with the unexpected ecstasy of the moment. She was no longer cold, the comfortable weight of his body and the insulating fur covering her were more than enough.

`Stupid pretty hair,' she smiled to herself, "stupid winter." With a deep sigh, she allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

* * * *

He spotted her clothes, or what was left of them, before reaching the tree. They were shredded, but looked as if they had been arranged into a careful pile. He could smell her now, but there was something different about it and he didn't like it.

As he walked around the trunk, he felt his blood begin to boil. Nestled between the exposed roots of the large tree lay Sesshomaru, wrapped only in the boa that normally hung from his shoulder, but it was what was under his half-brother that cause a growl to grow in Inu Yasha's throat.

"Kagome!?"


End file.
